Public Policy

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The Public Policy Office works to influence legislation on the national and state levels in order to promote the cause of human life and family life. Our mission is to transform our society in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For more information on current public policy issues see http://www.archny.org/public-policy or contact Ed Mechmann, Director of Public Policy, at (646) 794-2807 or edward.mechmann@archny.org.

We have mobilized the faithful for lobbying trips, letter-writing and email-writing campaigns, rallies and other activities to influence our government to defend mothers and fathers and their unborn children and all vulnerable human life. Information is regularly sent to parish leaders to encourage them to take action on urgent issues. Staff members have given talks to numerous religious and secular groups in an effort to promote the Gospel of Life, and the Church’s teachings on sexuality and the family.

We coordinate all our efforts with the New York State Catholic Conference to implement the Bishops’ legislative advocacy strategies. In particular, we rely on the Conference’s Catholic Advocacy Network, which organizes and mobilizes grassroots e-mail advocacy in support of the positions of the Church on public policy matters. We also cooperate with legislative initiatives from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Secretariat, and the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment https://www.humanlifeactioncenter.org/issues.

For the latest issues, check out Ed Mechmann's Blog - Stepping Out of the Boat

Two recent events have once again brought the issue of clerical sexual abuse to the forefront here in the Archdiocese. The first is the publication of the list of clergymen who were accused of child...